Stop Suffering and Stuffering: Holiday Tips from Evolving Eaters

4. I don’t have to feel bad or guilty about what I choose to eat and when I choose to eat it.

5. There are other tools and comforts that I can use to feel better besides food.

6. Look at setbacks with interest and curiosity, rather than self-anger or judgment.

7. A hand on the belly while eating to tune in.

8. I’ve learned to not set any rules about what I will or will not eat in advance. As soon as I set 3 sausage balls as my limit I am surely going to eat 6 and then feel like a failure.

9. I don’t “save up” my appetite for a holiday meal (or any meal).

10. I recognize when people are pushing food on me and try to be as polite as possible by either having a bite, savoring the taste and telling them how good it is, but saying, I can’t eat any more.

11. With the holidays usually come family. For me to keep a calm and balanced mood, it’s necessary to schedule “me” time into every day, even though I already know to expect the demands and distractions from my family. Booking a hotel room for myself has been a great tool to get some “me” time.

12. Working with hunger and satiation every singleday has started to pay off. The fear used to be, “how will I know when I’m full!! or, when I’ve eaten enough?” Now I calmly listen to my body and it tells me I’ve had enough…

…That being said, sometimes I do eat a little more than I need to, and when I realize that, I put down the food, breathe, and know that I will not explode, I will not turn into a giant blimp. Instead, life goes on and all I have to do is listen to when I am hungry again.

13. Holiday food makes me so excited (anxious), it’s special, beautiful, delicious, and only comes around once a year! Christmas cookies and cakes, Thanksgiving pies, and buttery mashed potatoes. My old habit was to fill up on as much as I could until I made myself sick. My new approach is to sit with this special food and mindfully appreciate what it offers. The time and effort someone close to me has put into creating it, how the ingredients themselves are manipulated into special little delicacies; all while remembering to breathe!

14. The more I approach the holiday table mindfully, breathing constantly, appreciating what is on my plate, I realize that there is also a whole world around me of conversation and love, and all I have to do is look up from my plate.

15. Care for yourself like you would a child. You wouldn’t deprive a child of sleep, food, love, so don’t deprive yourself of those things either.

16. When the urge arises to self-medicate (with food, deprivation, etc), ask yourself, “what do I REALLY need right now?”In the wintertime, I often find that I really DON’T need that fifth cookie. What I DO need is a walk outside, a warm bath or a cat nap!

17. I have learned to become aware of my fears, so that I can begin to step into them….this courage has allowed me to develop a new self-love, and reclaim a strength that has brought a new peace, awareness and gift into my life.

18. …Sometimes I require alone time, and sometimes I require the energy of people. The importance is to identify what will bring me personal peace and love in the moment and to honor that unconditionally.

19. Saying “no” is not only ok, but sometimes it’s necessary. It will give you power. It’s scary at first, but the more you assert yourself to protect your needs, the easier it will get.

20. Celebrate little victories.

21. Check in with yourself regularly. Ask yourself how you feel and what you need at that moment. Being present is like a secret weapon you always have at your disposal. Use it as much as you need to.

22. The language you use can affect the way you feel about yourself and your decisions. Avoid negative, self-hating language.There is no “good” and “bad.”

23. Discover your authentic self and stay true to that person. He or she is irreplaceable.

24. There are no rules when it comes to food. You like pickles and ice cream, great! Green eggs and ham, wonderful! Chocolate in your salad, go for it! Be creative!

25. The point is to enjoy your meal. It need not be perfect. Emphasizing perfection = disaster.